News & Events

Unity Day Set For April 11 at Penn State York

3/30/2007 —

Penn State York will celebrate its ninth annual Unity Day on Wednesday, April 11, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. when students, faculty, staff, and members of the York community are invited to celebrate diversity. Students, faculty and staff will share food items that represent their heritage and those who attend can participate in an international food sampling from a number of countries. Regardless of your heritage, Latino, Pennsylvania Dutch, African-American, Indian . . . Unity Day has a place for you. The celebration takes place in the Penn State York gym in the Joe and Rosie Ruhl Student Community Center. Displays will be set-up with items that reflect the origin or ancestry of faculty, staff, and students. A variety of performances are scheduled beginning at 12 p.m.

Unity Day at Penn State York is the culmination of the work of the Penn State York Diversity Committee, which includes students, faculty, and staff. A variety of multicultural events have been planned throughout the year to provide a forum for the campus and community to learn about diversity.

Students in Fred Haag’s design class, art 010, created designs for Unity Day and the campus community selected a T-shirt design from among them. A design by Peter J. Haldeman, a Penn State York freshman from York, was selected for the shirts. Those participating in Unity Day will wear the specially designed T-shirts. Goals for Unity Day include creating teachable moments to learn about diversity and to provide an opportunity for the campus and community to suggest ways Penn State can create a multicultural environment. Unity Day is sponsored in part by the Penn State York Student Government Association and the campus diversity committee.

Flags fly at Penn State York representing the homelands of students, faculty and staff almost year round, and symbolize campus pride in the ethnic heritage of campus members and their commitment to providing an environment where all opinions are valued and respected. Unity Day is an opportunity to educate, understand, and appreciate the differences between each other and discover the many similarities. To sign-up to participate in Unity Day, contact Art Henne, instructor in English and chairperson of the Penn State York Diversity Committee, at 717-771-4154, awh2@psu.edu.

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